Traverse control mechanism



Dec. 5, 1961 H. 5. LONG, JR., ET AL 3,011,731

TRAVERSE CONTROL MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 31. 1959 INVENTORS Hdzilrzeyla ,J a,

wJacla L. 0

ATTORNEY Dec. 5, 1961 H. 5. LONG, JR, ETAL 3,011,731

TRAVERSE CONTROL MECHANISM Filed July 31. 1959 v 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS W WJA maldllftfia'zyeyfi Mink L. Rqyers By flm,

ATTORNE Dec. 5, 1961 H. s. LONG, JR., ETAL 3,011,731

TRAVERSE CONTROL MECHANISM Filed July 31, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORS fl'a'zeylawh, Aheafl/lf ey /r. WJackLRo e119 %ofiza 4770/? 5 United States Patent 3,011,731 TRAVERSE CONTROL MECHANISM Hiram Sidney Long, .ir., Ronald W. Chidgey, In, and

Jack L. Rogers, Pensacola, Fla., assignors to The Chemstrand Corporation, Decatur, Ala., a corporation of Delaware Filed July 31, 1959, Ser. No. 830,745 9 Claims. (Cl. 24226.3)

This invention relates to traverse control mechanisms such as are used in spinning and twister frames, and particular to such motions as are employed in draw-twisting operations for producing a package of yarn on a bobbin.

Until fairly recently the traverse control mechanisms used in draw-twist operations has been the filling wind or diiferential filling wind type wherein the traverse of the ring rail in relation to the package being wound is of uniform stroke but is displaced lengthwise of the package during the winding operation.

Among the advantages of a diminishing traverse control mechanism of the type of the present invention are more constant traveler speeds during package formation, placement of more yarn on a bobbin with the same stroke and package diameter, obtaining of larger taper angles without sloughing, and lower and more constant yarn removal tension. In addition more of the yarn can be inspected because every layer of yarn is exposed on the tapers.

In view of the advantages of the diminishing traverse control or builder motion, various mechanisms have been suggested to accomplish such motion. In most cases, the suggested mechanisms have been quite complex and required considerable and frequent adjustment to achieve satisfactory results.

Broadly, the present invention provides a traverse control wherein the effective length of the stroke of a traverse is diminished with regular periodicity during the twisting period so as to produce a tapered package.

An object of this invention is to provide a builder motion which imparts a diminishing traverse to a ring rail in twisting and spinning machines. Other objects are to provide a builder motion which is simple in structure and requiring little or no adjustments during operation.

Further objects and features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art as the disclosure is made in the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention as illustrated in the accompanying sheets of drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a schematic perspective view of one embodiment of the builder motion of this invention shown in combination with the ring rail lifting mechanism, the movement of which it controls;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary sectional view drawn to a reduced scale showing details of the rocker arm of the embodiment of FZGURE l;

FIGURE 3 is a schematic perspective view showing a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 4 is a schematic perspective view of another embodiment of the invention, with the ring rail lifting mechanism omitted for convenience of illustration; and

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged sectional View showing the configuration of a yarn package wound on one embodiment of the present invention.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to the embodiment disclosed in FIGURES 1 and 2, reference numeral indicates an arm or lever which is pivotal-ly mounted on a pivot pin 12 which is aflixed to the frame of the machine indicated by reference numeral 14.

Reference numeral 16 denotes a plate cam which is attached to a rotatably mounted shaft 17 which is driven by a driving means (not shown) of a well-known type.

Beneath the plate cam is a cam follower or roller 18. The follower 18, positioned in a cup 19 rigidly mounted on the lever 16, is attached to the lever 10 so that an oscillating motion is imparted to the lever by contact of the rotating plate cam 16 with the follower. Within the lever 10 is a reversible screw 20 which extends the length of the lever. Reference numeral 22. denotes a traverse nut threaded onto the screw 20 and having a pressure arm or through traveler 24 extending therefrom.

Attached to the end of the reversible screw 20 is a ratchet wheel 26 shown mounted at the end of the lever 10. Associatedwith the ratchet wheel is a pick pawl 28 pivoted on a pin 29. Extending up from the pawl 28 is a pick rod 32 passing through a stop collar 34, a guide hole 36 in the machine frame and a second stop collar 38. The collars 34 and 38 are rigidly attached to the pick rod which is slidable in the guide hole 36.

The elements just recited together make up the primary builder motion means which imparts a diminishing reciprocating motion to an intermediate transmitting means and thence to the ring rail lifting elements or mechanism. The intermediate motion transmitting means of the embodiment shown in FIGURE 1 comprises in essence a bell crank mechanism. Reference numeral 42 denotes a bar which is supported by arms 44 and 46 in spaced parallel relationship with a shaft 48 to which the arms 44 and 46 are attached. The shaft 48 is shown movably mounted, as by a ball-bearing mounting 49, on hanger brackets 50 which are rigidly supported on side rails 52 of the draw-twister machine, only one of the brackets 50 beingshown.

Shown mounted on the shaft 48 between the arms 44 and 46 is an arc arm indicated by reference numeral 54. The are arm 54 is attached to an arc arm support 56 by means of a pin 58. Reference numeral 59 denotes an adjustment screw for slightly varying the position of arc arm 54 in relation to the plane of the shaft 48.

A cable 60 runs from the arc arm 54 to the ring rail lifting mechanism which is substantially of conventional design and comprises a quadrant arm 62 mounted on a cross shaft 64. The cross shaft 64, having a pillow block 66 mounted thereon, and running through a support 68 rigidly aihxed to the machine, is secured to a lifting' arm 70. Reference numeral 72 denotes a lifter rod mounted on a lifter foot 74 above a lifter roller 76 at tached to the arm 78. Attached to the upper part of the lifter rod 72 is a ring rail 78 having a ring 80 surrounding a yarn package 82. Vertical arm 84 of the arm 76 is attached to a connecting rod 86 which is shown broken away. This connecting rod 86 serves the function of connecting a plurality of cross shafts so as to reciprocate a plurality of ring rails by means of a single builder motion. Afiixed to the pillow block 66 is spiraltension spring 88 which is affixed to a portion 9% of the machine and which serves the purpose of countering the builder motion imparted by the plate cam 16. ,7 Referring again to FZGURE 1 of the drawing, the operation of the embodiment therein shown will now be described. The rotating plate cam 16 imparts a constant oscillating motion to the lever 14 by means of contact with the cam follower 18. This oscillating motion of the lever 19 in a fixed are about its axis is indicated by the double headed arrow at the lower left corner of lever 10.

The angular oscillating motion of the lever 10 is converted to a horizontal uniform motion by the bell crank mechanism described above. The pressure arm 24 moves the bar 42. This motion pivots the shaft 48 through an angle indicated by the reference letter A. The angle for the sake of subsequent description will be termed the transmittance angle. The angular motion of the shaft 48 exerts a horizontal pull on the quadrant arm 62 through the arc arm 54 and cable 6i). The horizontal motion is converted to a vertical reciprocating motion by means of the shaft 64 which is attached to the lifter arm 70.

' In practice, the ring rail 78 is raised by the force of the spring 88 and lowered by the builder motion initiated by the plate cam 16. The roles of the spring and builder motion could, of course, be reversed. It will be seen that the action of the spring is also transmitted through the intermediate motion transmitting means to counteract the pushing motion of the plate cam 16 to the lever arm 10. That is to say, the spring pulls the lever arm up after each downward thrust by the cam 16.

The above description of operation has shown how the uniform oscillating motion of the lever is transmitted to the ring rail. The manner in which this motion is regularly and periodically diminished will now be described. As the lever arm 10 is pulled upward by operation of the spring 88, the pawl 28 ratchet across the ratchet wheel 26 a predetermined distance regulated by the collar .34. When. the lever is thrust downward by operation of the cam 16, the pawl 28 engagesa groove of the ratchet wheel 26 to turn this wheel and thereby the reversible screw 20 to which the wheel is attached. The reversible screw traver'ses the nut 22 and the pressure arm 24 attached thereto so as to advance this arm closer to the pivot pm 12 upon each oscillatory motion. As the pressure arm approaches closer to the pivot point of the lever the eifective lever length is reduced, and in turn the vertical displacement of the pressure arm is also reduced. 7

The reduction of displacement results in the reduction of the angle A or transmittance angle through which the shaft 48 is turned, and thus reduces the horizontal motion imparted to the cable 60. It consequently follows that the reciprocating motion of the ring rail is also diminished in response to the diminished pull on the quadrant arm 62. It is recognized that the vertical displacement of the pressure arm 24 will diminish as it approaches the axis of the lever 10. It is also recognized that this reduction of displacement can be effected by movement of the cam 16 away from the axis of the lever 10.

By means of the apparatus just described a package 82 with a straight barrel portion concentric with the bobbin and two sharp tapered angles, such as is shown mounted within the ring 80 in FIGURE 5, may be formed. An additional feature and advantage of the embodiment disclosed in FIGURE 1 is that the barrel portion of the package may be altered, for example, to produce a conical shaped barrel merely by adjusting the arc arm 54 on the arc arm support 56. In the embodiment shown, the arc arm is sh'own positioned perpendicular to the horizontal plane made up by the bar 42 and the shaft 48 during the middle of the stroke. Merely by adjusting the screw 59, the arc arm 54 may be inclined on a different angle to the horizontal whereby the distance between the axis of the shaft 48 and the end of arc arm 54 is changed so that the ring rail motion will be altered. In other words, the traverse of the ring rail may be moved up or down by changing the position of the arc arm 54 with respect to the arc arm support 56. 7

Referring to FIGURE 3 of the drawing a second em- 7 bodiment of the builder motion of this invention is dis- A and having threaded thereon a traverse nut 110, carries a pressure arm 112 and a roller 114. The movement of the pressure arm along the reversible screw 108 is again regulated by the motion ofan attached ratchet wheel 116,

pawl 118 and a pawl lever 120. Reference numeral 121 denotes a conventional pawl-stop which is fixedly mounted on the machine to engage the lever 120.

As has been stated, the intermediate motion transmitting means herein comprises an auxiliary builder lever 122 which is pivoted on a pivot pin 124 attached to the 7 machine frame. Supported on the auxiliary builder lever 122 is a flat member 126 which contacts the roller 114 mounted on the pressure arm. At the far right of the flat member 126 there is provided a switch 128 which is associated with electrical means (not shown) to stop the mechanism when the pressure arm 112 strikes'and opens the switch.

Reference numeral 130 denotes a cable or chain which is attached to the end of the lever 122 and runs over a pulley 132 to a quadrant arm 62 secured to a cross shaft 64. The remaining parts of the lifting elements are the same as described with regarded to FIGURE 1.

The operation of the embodiment disclosed in FI URE 3 is substantially the same as that of the embodiment shown in FIGURE 1 except that the pressure arm in this case strikes the auxiliary builder lever 122 at a point further away from the pivot of the auxiliary lever upon each oscillating motion of the primary builder lever 100. Thus, the vertical displacement of the auxiliary lever is reduced at each oscillation of the primary lever. This diminishing displacement is transmitted through the cable 130 to the quadrant arm 62 and then to the ring rail lifting mechanism in the same manner as described with regard to the operation of FIGURE 1.

Referring now to FIGURE 4, a third embodiment is disclosed which is similar to that embodiment shown in FIGURE 3. Here too, the lever mounted on the pivot pin 102 is oscillated by the action of the primary cam 104 on the cam follower 106. The pressure arm 112 transmits the oscillating motion of the primary builder lever to an auxiliary builder lever 200. In this case, the auxiliary builder lever 200 is pivoted about a pivot pin 202 which is situated in front of the pivot pin 102 of the primary lever. A flat member 204 supported upon the auxiliarylever 200 contacts the roller 114 on the pressure arm 112. A switch 206 mounted near the end of flat member 204 disables the machine when it is engaged and opened by the arm 112. Cable 208 runs from the end of the auxiliary builder lever around a pulley 210 and then to the quadrant arm of the lifting mechanism (not shown) 7 of the type previously described.

In the operation of the embodiment shown in FIGURE 4, the displacement imparted to the auxiliary builder lever 200 is somewhat less than in the case of the embodiment shown in FIGURE 3, wherein the pivot point of the primary and auxiliary levers were opposed. In the embodiment of FIGURE 4, as the pressure arm 112 is moved away from the axis of the primary builder lever it is also moved away from the axis of the auxiliary builder lever 200 and, because of the difference in placement of the pivot pins of the two levers, causes a diminishing displace ment to the auxiliary builder lever.

Instead of placing the auxiliary builder lever pivot point in front of the pivot point of the primary builder lever it is apparent that the pivot point could be placed to the rear of the primary builder lever pivot point, and still accomplish a diminishing displacement of said auxiliary builder lever. As long as both pivot points do not lie on the same vertical plane then diminishing displacement can be effected.

It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing disclosure relates only to a preferred embodiment of the invention and that numerous modifications or alterations may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. i

What is claimed is:

1. In a, traverse control mechanism in combination with a ring rail and lifter elements supporting said rail for reciprocation thereof, a lever pivoted for oscillation about an axis, cam means engaging said lever to oscillate the same, a pressure arm on said lever to transmit said oscillations, bell crank means operated by the pressure arm and having thereon an adjustable arc arm to transmit motion from said arm to said lifter elements, means responsive to said oscillations for diminishing the distance of said pressure arm from said axis to decrease displacement of said pressure arm.

2. In a traverse control mechanism in combination with a ring rail and litter elements supporting said rail for reciprocation thereof, a lever pivoted for oscillation about an axis, cam means acting on said lever to oscillate the same, means including a pressure arm on said lever to transmit said oscillations, bell crank means operated by the pressure arm for transmitting motion from said arm to said lifter elements, a reversible screw running longitudinally of said lever, said pressure arm being mounted on said screw to be driven thereby, and pawlratchet wheel means at the end of said screw to rotate said screw and advance said pressure arm closer to said axis upon each oscillation of said lever.

3. The traverse control mechanism of claim 2 wherein said bell crank means is provided with a motion transmitting arc arm extending from the plane of said bell crank and adapted for angular displacement in relation thereto, whereby the motion transmitted to said lifter elements may be altered.

4. In a traverse control mechanism in combination with a ring rail and lifter elements supporting said rail for reciprocation thereof, a lever pivoted for oscillation about an axis, cam means acting on said lever to oscillate the same, means comprising a pressure arm on said lever to transmit said oscillations, intermediate lever means engaging the pressure arm for transmitting motion from said arm to said lifter elements, stroke responsive means on the lever for diminishing the distance of said pressure arm from said axis to decrease the amplitude of the arc of oscillation of said pressure arm, and means actuated by the pressure arm for stopping the cam means when said pressure arm has reached a predetermined point on the lever.

5. The traverse control mechanism of claim 4 wherein the axis of said intermediate lever means is opposed to the axis of said first mentioned lever.

6. The traverse control mechanism of claim 4 wherein the axis of said intermediate lever means lies in the same direction as the axis of said first mentioned lever.

7. In a traverse control mechanism in combination with a ring rail and litter elements supporting said rail for reciprocation thereof, a lever pivoted for oscillation about an axis, cam means acting on said lever to oscillate the same, means comprising a pressure arm on said lever to transmit said oscillations, intermediate lever means engaging the pressure arm for transmitting motion from said arm to said lifter elements, stroke responsive means comprising a reversible screw running longitudinally of said lever, said pressure arm being mounted on said screw to be driven thereby, and pawlratchet wheel means at the end of the screw adapted to rotate said screw to advance said pressure am1 closer to said axis upon each oscillation of said lever.

8. In a traverse control mechanism in combination with a ring rail and lifter elements supporting said rail for reciprocation, a lever, a pressure arm carried by the lever, stroke-responsive means for moving the pressure arm along the lever to vary the arc of movement of said pressure arm, a rotatable shaft having thereon an arc arm connected to the lifter elements for transmitting motion thereto, said are arm being adjustable in position on the shaft to vary the position of the lifter elements, a pair of spaced arms secured to the shaft, and a bar connected between the arms in engagement with the pressure arm for oscillating the arc arm as the lever is oscillated, said pressure arm sliding along the bar as said pressure arm is moved along the lever.

9. In a traverse control mechanism in combination with a ring rail and lifter elements supporting said rail for reciprocation, a lever having thereon a cam follower, a cam in engagement with the cam follower for oscillating the lever, a pressure arm carried by the lever, ratchet and pawl means for moving the pressure arm along the lever to vary the arc of oscillation of said pressure arm, a rotatable shaft, an arc arm pivotally attached to the shaft and connected to the lifter elements for transmitting movement thereto, a pair of arms secured to the shaft and extending toward the lever, a bar secured to the arms parallel to the shaft and in engagement with the pressure arm to the arc arm, and an adjustment screw threaded through the arc arm and engaging the shaft for adjusting the position of the arc arm to thereby adjust the position of the ring rail.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 865,048 Klein Sept. 3, 1907 1,718,629 Boyd June 25, 1929 1,892,343 Hess Dec. 27, 1932 2,841,949 Leutert July 8, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 379,507 France Sept. 11, 1907 777,480 Great Britain June 26, 1957 

